Sticks and Stones (2008)

The Boxers from Brockton, MA and the Canadiens from Fredericton, NB are two teams at a 2003 Montréal junior hockey tournament. The Boxers almost didn't attend because of the rising global ... See full summary »

Director:

George Mihalka

Writers:

Sharon Buckingham (created by), Sharon Buckingham (story)

Stars:

David Sutcliffe, Alexander De Jordy, Daniel Magder

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Sutcliffe	...	Neil Martin
Alexander De Jordy	...	Jordan Martin
Daniel Magder	...	Michael Carver
John Robinson	...	Peter Carver
Richard Fitzpatrick	...	Al Bouchard
Debra McCabe	...	Linda Martin
Cary Lawrence	...	Diane Heany
Lori Hallier	...	Anne Carver
Cameron Ansell	...	Dennis Heany
Scott Beaudin	...	Kyle Perkins
Mark Camacho	...	Craig Perkins
Sam Earle	...	Curran Webster (as Samuel Earle)
Alessandro Costantini	...	Zack Connelly
Marc Trottier	...	Chris Carver
Luc Proulx	...	Mr. Houle

Storyline

The Boxers from Brockton, MA and the Canadiens from Fredericton, NB are two teams at a 2003 Montréal junior hockey tournament. The Boxers almost didn't attend because of the rising global tensions due to the US initiated Iraq War. After arriving in Montréal, the Boxers wished they hadn't attended as they face anti-US sentiments time after time, some bordering on the potentially violent. This situation is especially troubling for the family of the Boxers' star forward Michael Carver, whose twenty year old brother Chris Carter gave up his own hockey life to enlist and is scheduled to head over to Iraq soon. One half of the Canadiens star first line, coach Neil Martin's twelve year old son Jordan Martin, doesn't like the treatment shown to the American team. Although distracted by his parent's crumbling marriage whose problems are due primarily to competing careers, Jordan decides to do his small but seemingly insurmountably problematic part in fixing the wrong that has been done. ...

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Plot Keywords:

children | friendship | ice hockey | based on true story | 

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Genres:

Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some thematic material and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Since a TV production must appeal to a large demographic group, it's teleplay differs from the history of the original March 2004 Friendship Tournament. A Pee Wee hockey production would appeal primarily to kids and families, so the principal instigator of the tournament was changed from a seasoned hockey dad/coach to a Pee Wee player, Jordy, who witnesses some of the Brockton team's humiliation himself. The time line to stage the tournament was shortened from one year to three months. Tension between Jordy's parents and a scheduling conflict with a hockey assessment camp were introduced.

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Goofs

(at around 45 mins) The New Brunswick license plate GAJ-314 has expiration tab "03 2008", whereas the picture is set in 2003.

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Crazy Credits

"The events in this film are inspired by the real-life actions of hockey dads Brian Johnson and Roger Shannon who organized the Friendship Series that took place in Fredericton, New Brunswick in 2004. We thank them for their generosity in letting us tell this story."

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Hockey Movies (2015)

User Reviews

So cute...

All in all...excellent...It was very true to the story...though I did not care for how "French" the actor who played Premier Bernard Lord played it...Bernard Lord is definitely French but, does not speak with that marked of an accent as was portrayed in the film...it was my only criticism, the actor certainly favored him in looks, though...it was kind of funny to see houses and streets that I recognize being shown as the "USA." My nephew is a goalie in one of the street hockey scenes. We watched this movie when it was shown on TV on Feb 1st, 2008. We may be a bit biased but, we think it shows the spirit of the youth of Fredericton and the innate goodness of the people here in our region.

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 January 2008 (Canada)

Filming Locations:

Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD3,900,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cirrus Communications, Dream Street Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Color:

Color